GARDEN CITY FLORIST

First off, the company put them in the front of my carport where I park my car!! I wasn't expecting anything and another inch forward and I would have ran over them. They claim they called my boyfriend to ask, but he didn't receive a call and neither did I... there is SO much room off to the side near the door, but they put them right where you park the front of a car. The bouquet was pretty at first glance but severely lacking upon inspection. I later found out that they substituted pink lilies for stargazer lilies... there is NO comparison!! They don't smell and don't give the pop of stargazers, plus my boyfriend KNOWS my favorite flower. One of the lilies had broken leaves and a rose was missing half its petals on one side. There were suppose to be 14 stems, but it had 13 including the accent flowers that weren't even open halfway. He sent me a pic of what he thought he ordered and there was NO comparison. Also, they didn't include the normal flower powder that every other bouquet I received from other florists has. He called and complained today... they claim a valid substitution of lilies and didn't address the missing or broken flowers. After much complaining, he got a refund (I didn't want a replacement, it was the thought that counted for me).

www.ProFlowers.com & Garden City Florist (the first paragraph describes my initial attempts to address the situation with the local vendor (Garden City Florist). When that went unresolved over the course of a week, I was forced to take the dispute to ProFlowers.com. I have posted this entire background on the ProFlowers.com page on Angie's laist, as well. Below is a summary of what transpired. My initial correspondence with ProFlowers: When the delivery person delivered my wife's Mother's Day bouquet, I immediately told him that it was the wrong bouquet. He gave me the local business name and number to call (Garden City Florist 703-533-8636). I called and spoke to a very nice woman who told me they would replace the bouquet the following day with one that included sunflowers. She stated she needed additional sunflowers from the warehouse (?). The following day, no flowers were delivered and I called to check on the status. She stated that the flowers from the warehouse were not satisfactory. I therefore told her I wanted a refund. She was agreeable to that, but I needed to return the flowers so she could get credit from the warehouse(?), so I was to leave them outside the door for a delivery person to pick them up. I did as I was told, but no one picked them up, and I called to remind them in case they forgot. She said they would have the driver pick them up tomorrow. This routine (no pick up, me calling, they saying they'll pick them up the following day) has transpired every day since Sunday, May 13th. I feel as if I am getting the run-around, and now I just want my money back. Attached you will find a photo of my $75 mother's day bouquet which does not include the sunflowers (the focus of the bouquet I ordered). As you can see, the delivered bouquet is grossly inadequate for the amount of money spent on the product, and the bouquet is only designed with one "face" in mind, as if the bouquet was intended to be laying in a box. How do I get my money back for this product? ProFlowers initial response: Thank you for your recent order. Please accept our apologies for any dissatisfaction you experienced with our service. Although we are pleased that the recipient received the arrangement for the Mother's Day holiday, we are concerned that the substituted bouquet did not meet your standards. As was stated online when you placed the order, and included with your confirmation e-mail, our substitution policy states that due to the increased demand due to the Mother's Day holiday, there may be cases where substitutions are made for flowers or vases. Substitutions will be for a product as close as possible, and of equal or greater value to the original requested product. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions or concerns. We look forward to serving you again! My rebuttal: What your substitution policy does not address is the substandard quality of product. The product I received, as indicated by my previously attached photographs was nearly a HALF a bouquet. It appeared as if were pulled from a box, and only meant to be viewed from one side. This quality of product is not what was expected, and as a first-time purchaser with ProFlowers makes me reluctant to do so again. It is also concerning that the customer service I have received was inadequate, as I was repeatedly told one thing, but never followed through in the end. I thank you for your apologies, but I wholeheartedly disagree that this is simply a "substitution" issue. ProFlowers "final" response: Thank you for contacting Proflowers Florist Express. We sincerely apologize for your disappointment with your recent order. Therefore, we are issuing you a 15% refund off of the product. This refund will process back to your account within 1-3 business days. My final thoughts: In summary, I did not receive the bouquet in the picture, nor was the bouquet designed to be viewed from all sides...but I did receive a whopping 15% credit for my troubles. Never again ProFlowers! I will ensure this information is distributed far and wide.